Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Camera vs Note 3 (rear and front) Compared

September 4, 2014

In this article I will spill some more information about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 rear-facing camera to see what’s changed and which one is better?. Samsung has upgrade/improved the main camera from the previous model, the Note 3. Let’s first take a look at a Note 4 vs Note 3 rear camera specs comparison before we continue on talking about the what’s changed.

Note 4 Rear Camera

Note 3 Rear Camera

Note 4 Front Camera

Note 3 Front Camera

Lens

31mm (equivalent) F2.2

31mm (equivalent) F2.2

22mm (equivalent) F1.9

~ 90º DOV

*Exact 90 degrees actually equivalent to approx. 21.63 mm

27mm (equivalent) F2.45

Resolution

16.0MP

13.0MP

3.7 megapixel

2.0MP

Selfie Modes

N/A

N/A

Selfie (90º)
Wide selfie mode (120º) via panning

Selfie (77º)

Image Stabilization

Smart OIS (Optical)

Smart Stabilization (Digital)

Smart Stabilization (Digital)

Smart Stabilization (Digital)

Sensor Size &
Tech

1/2.6" (5.08x3.81 mm)
BSI CMOS

1/3.06-inch (4.69x3.52 mm)
BSI CMOS

1.12µm pixel size

BSI CMOS

1/6" (2.40x1.80mm)
BSI CMOS

1.34µm pixel size

Flash

Dual LED Flash

LED Flash (high CRI)

N/A

N/A

Max. Video Resolution

Ultra HD / 30fps (4K, 2160p)

Ultra HD / 30fps (4K)

Full HD / 30fps

Full HD / 30fps

We can clearly see from the above Note 4 vs Note 3 camera comparison specs that Samsung improved the specs for both the rear/main and front camera. The rear Note 4 camera has been updated with extra 3MP. Samsung also added an optical image stabilization to the rear camera, not the digital stabilization found on all its other Galaxy cameras. The optical image stabilization was designed to compensate for camera movements, allowing sharper images when shooting in slow shutter speed. This leads to improved low-light performance as well, because the camera can reduce the shutter speed to let more light in, and still shoot at a shutter speed that doesn’t cause blur when shooting hand-held (what you do most of the time, if not always).

Samsung also upgrades the Sony IMX420 sensor with the IMX135 which is larger in size. The thing which is the most important here is the pixel size. I calculated the pixel size of the Note 4 rear camera to get an approximate size and got 1.12 µm (micron) size pixels, whether the Note 3 rear camera has 1.12µm (micron) size pixels. I’ve read in a few places (unofficial) that the rear camera should have the same pixel size, so I’ll guess we should wait for a more official source to get the exact number. Keep in mind that the although the sensor is slightly larger, the resolution got higher by 3MP.

Other improvement is a Dual LED flash instead of a single LED flash on the Note 3 and a 120 degrees wide selfie mode which is possible by panning the camera. The regular ‘selfie‘ mode is also now wider than the Note 3. The front facing camera is not wider and faster than the Note 3 as well, allowing better low-light shooting and of course convenient slefies.

All in all, it’s a significant improvement over the Note 3 in my opinion. You’ll get better photos in low-light, better image quality and better selfies!